A Carteret County man who admitted to making a hoax call for help to the Coast Guard was convicted Friday in federal court in Raleigh.

Homer Lewis Blackburn, 27, of Atlantic Beach, entered a guilty plea before U.S. District Judge Terrence Boyle to making false distress calls to the Coast Guard last year, prompting a multi-agency search for a sinking boat in the Cape Lookout area, according to information from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of North Carolina.

Blackburn’s sentencing is scheduled for the Aug. 4 court term.

On Oct. 8, 2013, Coast Guard Sector North Carolina received a May Day distress call during which the caller claimed he was sinking and abandoning his boat in the vicinity of Cape Lookout and Shackleford Banks. A search and rescue operation was launched that included the Coast Guard, the Marine Corps, National Park Service and a local salvage company.

The Coast Guard ultimately determined the call was a hoax but not before $288,3090 worth of resources were used.

According to court information, the Coast Guard Investigative Service began an investigation and received information from a witness who identified the caller as Blackburn and confirmed the call was a hoax.

The witness told investigators that Blackburn used a CB radio he mounted to the balcony of his apartment to make the call and that she heard him saying “Mayday, Mayday” and that he was sinking near Cape Lookout.

Blackburn then reportedly went out to the balcony and watched the helicopters during the search efforts.

According to the information on the case, another witness said Blackburn bragged about the hoax call

Blackburn subsequently confessed to making the calls.

Coast Guard officials said hoax calls are a serious concern.

“False distress calls limit the Coast Guard’s ability to respond to actual emergencies,” said Capt. Sean Murtagh, commander of Sector North Carolina, said in a statement. “Ultimately, they penalize the local communities and mariners the Coast Guard is charged to protect by unnecessarily endangering the lives of responders and wasting hundreds of thousands of tax payer dollars. Through the vigilance of the public, our strong partnerships with the Department of Justice, the U.S. Attorney’s Office, and our Coast Guard Investigative Service, this case affirms our collective commitment to holding accountable those individuals who make hoax calls.”

The maximum penalty that Blackburn faces at sentencing is six years imprisonment, a $250,000.00 fine and restitution of all costs incurred by the Coast Guard.